A point of non-descript light appeared in space several dozen miles out from the Primary Physical port. Suddenly the point burst outward into a spinning mass of artificial starlight. Tendrils of light stretched and arched around the core, spinning faster and faster. The point continued growing and increasing with intensity until nearly blinding to the naked eye. With the same suddenness that brought on the show of light, the spinning mass receded back into the folds of dimensional space and time revealing the silvers and naval blues of a Republic Fleet Carrier.The massive ship rotated on her port side spherical gravity drive, and lined up her paired flight decks with the metallic shine of the port. The minds of the fleet

*It was Radigen that gave the 'harsh rebuke', not Halleck. Halleck's not the court-marshalling type <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"><P>As far as Admiral Radigen was concerned, it was the only sensible thing the female G.L. solider had said or done in the brief period of his heated acquaintance with her."Glad you joined our side," He quipped with his back to Salya. "I don't know who you are, and frankly I don't give a damn," He said flatly as he surveyed the scene and took a head count, "All I want from you is your envoy on safety's side of that armor door without fatalities, got that?" His tone made it clear he neither needed nor wanted an answer.Halleck managed a wry grin despite the imminent danger abounding, "Mutli-faceted diplomatic meeting turned military retreat and intergalactic incident" He chuckled, "Only you Brash, only you."Radigen's expression became grim as he watched the medics fighting to keep one mysterious being alive while the other fought to keep them all alive. "Just trying to keep things interesting." He murmured as they ran off to help the medics get Cygni safely aboard the carrier.<P>[This message has been edited by Republic Fleet Command (edited 09-27-2001).]<p>[This message has been edited by Republic Fleet Command (edited 09-27-2001).]

Taken aback by Halleck's harsh rebuke Salya actually took a step backward and stood speechless. Her mouth moved but no sound came out. "How dare he speak to me like that! I'm the elite of the elite. I'm the commander of the shock troopers. He can't speak to me like that, can he?" Completely confused Salya stood opening and closing her mouth to no avail. People rushed around her trying to help the being called Cygni. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw a young female dart from the shadows, to Cygni's side. Salya only half heard the girl ask what had caused Cygni's condition. As she was lost in her own thoughts. But a moment latter she was brought back from her reverie quite abruptly as there was a loud crack and the ship shuddered. Concerned Salya turned to Radigen and Halleck and asked. "Do you think it might be a good idea to reconvene on your ship for now? So we can get Cygni treated and have a more stable environment?"

"All I want from you is your envoy on safety's side of that armor door without fatalities, got that?""Safety my ass" Salya thought as she was running down the corridors of the Sytrobuel. Only moments after getting to safety onboard the Systrobuel, Salya and the envoy had been walking toward the command tower. When they were thrown to the floor by a violent shudder. Looking up from the floor Salya saw the corridor start to warp and twist. It was like the corridor was being annealed and then slowly twisted. The bulkheads that weren't warping yet, started to buckle, and small fractures started to form. One by one every one in the envoy saw it, and stood frozen in a mixture of awe and fear. Then almost as one they broke out of their trance and ran. As they ran the gravity started to fluctuate, one moment they would be near weightless the next it would be hard to even lift their feet.Staggering down the corridor as fast as they could trying to escape the warping corridor. It was all over in a short moment as the ship shuddered again and there was a deafening explosion. Then all was quiet and the hall was frozen in its twisted, warped form. Dazed and unsure of what just happened they envoy staggered back towards the physical port.

Kerr was the equivelant to incoherent in the nonphysical world. In the physical her nervous system was undergoing severe strain. She trembled, from cold and shock, became dizzy, was constantly losing her balance. This was a world that seemed to her to have no right side up. For a moment she oriented herself and there was burst of energy that allowed her to pull the port back together. But then it was gone and she was left desolate again. Afraid, alone, and very much responsible for the lives of those in the port, she finally began to fall to the ground. Salya was the quickest and sprinted to catch her before she hit the ground. After a moment of the orientation of being pulled gravitationally downward Kerr recovered minutely. Some light went off in her fractured mind and she suddenly stood and snapped orders, still shaking but her voice authoritative in her accented, fragmentary language. "Take her!" she commanded to Radigen and Salya, indicating Cygni. "You," she looked Halleck in the eye, "we need to leave. This place dies soon neh? How?" Her desperation was growing.<p>[This message has been edited by Cygni (edited 10-03-2001).]

The group was sitting around a clear metal table, there were pitchers of liquid and papers strewn about. The young man directed him to sit in the vacant chair to the left of an old man dressed in a dark-green Armaenian officer

Admiral Radigen was about to argue the finer points of the chain of command with the newly arrived female, but his holo-real communications indicator activated,"...Republic Ganenzuela, this is the Titan-Carrier Behillomoth, do you require assistance?....Republic.."The message repeated for several seconds and it became frighteningly apparent that the Systrobuel wasn't going to respond.Radigen and Halleck glanced at one another and then looked at the ruin beyond the Carrier armor doors."I wonder how bad it is out there," Halleck mumbled as Radigen activated his personal Holo-Comm unit.A holo-real window traced itself from light and nothing, "Behillomoth, this is Grand Admiral Brash Radigen, Galactic Republic Navy. My party and I were aboard the physical port when it happened. We have no way to assess the damage to Systrobuel from this position. What the bloody hell is going on out there anyway? Are the superstructure and command tower dais still intact?" <p>[This message has been edited by Adm. B. Radigen (edited 10-03-2001).]

and you're rehired as copyboys, NOW GO XEROX SOME BIRTHDAY CARDS WHILE WE REFURNISH YOU'RE OLD OFFICES AS JACUZZIS AND VIDEO ARCADES...WHICH YOU, as mere copyboys, ARE NOT WELCOME IN!! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA<P>